Bears

[Cowtown guy]

I don't know a lot about bears so here's a question. In early spring do the bigger boars come out first or is it the sows that are first to be spotted?
Anybody?

[pdfish]

Sows come out first, at least from what I've seen and where I hunt.

[WTHunter]

It has been my experience that young boars come first, then sows and cubs, then the big boys. Often don't see the big ones on baits (for example) until weeks after the younger bears have been in. However, there are always exceptions.

[sco22]

x2. I have generally observed the small boars and small sows for that matter, then the moms and tots followed by the big boars. Be patient on your baits.

Cheers.

[NCC]

All of the big boars that I know of have been killed towards the end of May or in the fall. I think the bear rut starts towards the end of May.

[25-284]

x3 thats what i see every spring:evilgrin:

[antlerguy]

You will usually see bears that were kicked off the sow the spring before and sow with cubs first. I feel this is due to the fact that they were either not as ready for winter as other bears, example not being as good at hunting and gathering food, or the cubs are taking enough from them so they have to get up earlier. We didn't start taken good solid boars until the third week in May last year. Some still had plugs in them. But then again last year was a late spring. There is no exacts as each year is a little different.

[BrownBear416]

All of the big boars that I know of have been killed towards the end of May or in the fall. I think the bear rut starts towards the end of May.

X2...

[Jamie]

Thats funny. In alaska (Coastal Brown Bears) the first ones out of the Den are the Boars. I wonder why it would be different. We didnt see a Sow or a cub for the entire 10 days. One young bear, but thats it.

Jamie

[ABDUKNUT]

Thats funny. In alaska (Coastal Brown Bears) the first ones out of the Den are the Boars. I wonder why it would be different. We didnt see a Sow or a cub for the entire 10 days. One young bear, but thats it.

Jamie

Because Alaskan Brown Bears and Black Bears are two different species-

Different habitat, different mating, denning and wintering rituals, etc.

Like comparing whitetail deer to caribou.

[Grizzly Adams]

One of the arguments made in favor of continuing the Spring bear hunt in Ontario, was that boars come out of their dens earlier than sows, with cubs , hence hunters were much more likely to encounter boars.
Males generally emerge from dens before females, wether they have cubs, or not. Sow with cubs are generally the last to leave their dens and hang around them, for a while.
Another little tid bit.:D Bears shed the hardened outer layer of their feet and may have tender feet, for a while, after emerging from their dens.

Grizz

[winged1]

and I always thought it had to do with temperature. A den on a southern slope sees earlier emergance than a northern slope den.

[DJS]

I too have expierienced seeing alot of younger boars and sows earlier abd the larger boss bears later. However, one of the biggest bears I have ever shot was in the last week in April in 2003. Always seems to be an exeption to the rule.